Reprisal Slated For More Than $10M In Film Grant Funds

The locally shot TV series Reprisal is slated to get $10.7 million through the N.C. Film and Entertainment Grant, the N.C. Department of Commerce stated in a news release Wednesday.

The film, which is still being produced by A+E Studios in association with The Littlefield Co., is still being shot in Wilmington. The series will be available on Hulu when complete. The story is described as a 'hyper-kinetic' revenge tale following a woman who, after being left for dead, leads a campaign against the gang that tried to kill her.

The film will become eligible for the funds once filming is done, according to the release.

"The series, whose pilot was also filmed in the state, will film in the greater Wilmington area, with filming expected to take place in various parts of Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender and Sampson counties," stated the release.

The funds were announced along with two other projects in the state, Virginia Cold Case Project, a made-for-TV movie from Markday Media, and The 24th, an independent feature film, officials said.

Markay Media is the award-winning production team behind the hit North Carolina-filmed PBS series A Chef’s Life and the documentary Private Violence. The Virginia Cold Case Project will follow a family as it comes to grips with new, emerging information about a 32-year-old cold case in Virginia.

Production-related activities are expected to take place in Durham, Mecklenburg, Moore and Robeson counties. The production has a commitment for $370,000 from the film and entertainment grant.

The 24th has been approved to have $1.6 million reserved from the grant program. The project, which is scheduled to shoot in Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, is the story of the 1917 Houston Riot, or Camp Logan Riot, in which soldiers of the Third Battalion of the all-black 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment clashed with members of the Houston Police Department. Filming is expected through the end of June.

The three projects combined are expected to generate a direct in-state spend in excess of $50 million, according to the release.

The productions will create more than 5,800 job opportunities in the state, including 1,120 crew positions for the state’s talented film workforce, the release stated.

The three projects join five other projects that have had funds reserved from the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant during the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30.

"In all, North Carolina Department of Commerce has reserved $34,116,244 from the grant during this period," according to the release. "The state anticipates a direct in-state spend of at least $124.5 million for all productions from 2019 with additional projects expected to increase the overall spend total by year end."

N.C. Film Office Direcor Guy Gaster said in the release, "We continue to see interest in our state as a filming location grow. With our renowned crews, established infrastructure, versatile locations, and a steady grant program, North Carolina proves to be the ideal location for the film and television industry.”

The news of Reprisal's grant funding comes after another Wilmington-shot project got some of the worst news a production can get. Earlier this month, crew members on DC Universe’s Swamp Thing, which was shot in Wilmington and at EUE/Screen Gems Studio, were told the show would not be picked up for another season.